G/Day Matthew.
Have you seen the book "First Home"?.
It deals with the "Couta" boat , and the way it has evolved , since the 1850's or so.
Of course , the original boats were sail/oar , then in about the 1920's the engines were put in.
And no , the engines didn't take to the marine environment too well , they weren't all that reliable.
But the biggest problem was boat fires , and explosions , from volatile fuel escaping.
I've got the good fortune to be able to mix with old time fishermen , who still sail 'couta boats , and they just won't even entertain the idea of a petrol engine , in a boat.
They keep on saying " why put in a petrol , when you can put in a marine diesel "?.
Like you , they are happy sailing or put putting around , while the out of towners go screaming past in their flash bit of plastic.
A funny story.
A mate was out in his 1930's 30 ft 'couta boat , fishing , when a flashy bit of plastic came out , and did some "circle work" around them , before tiring of that , and going further down the coast .
After a while , my mate decided to also go further down the coast.
On going around the headland , he finds a swamped and broken down bit of plastic , with the owner waving frantically.
He had been caught by a wave , and his petrol engine swamped.
Well , they agreed to tow him back in , and even though they had a perfectly good 4 cylinder diesel in the couta boat , they did it under sail , with lots of tacking.
The bloke couldn't get his boat on the trailer quick enough , and was never seen again.
I've heeded the old timers advise , and my experience in the CG , which is primarily involved in search and rescue , has shown me that it was a correct decision.
If you haven't read " First Home" by Michael Innes and Steve Burnham , might I suggest you see if you can get it from your library (it is a very expensive book) , and enjoy.
It is a top quality read , and reference book.
One day soon I hope to go hybrid , and the electric component should get plenty of use.
Regards Rob J.
Regards Rob J.
From: Matthew Geier <matthew@acfr.usyd.edu.au>
To: electricboats@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thu, 10 February, 2011 8:35:27 AM
Subject: Re: [Electric Boats] Re: Electric boating association in the US?
I run an electric 'motor boat'. (Which is currently grounded - I've
managed to kill my motor controller).
However my situation is unusual. 99% of the boats around me are
planning hulls with their users 'speeding to and fro'. None of these are
suitable for electric.
My own boat is a 5m displacement hull. The boat's maximum speed is
about 9km/hr, no matter HOW much hp is applied. (No way my hull shape
would plane - it would need hydrofoil wings to lift out of the water!)
It's original 2 stroke petrol engine would probably have run for
several days straight on one tank of fuel. I get 4 and half hours at top
speed out of my (Lead Acid) battery bank. Thats a significant reduction
in range.
But that battery capacity is more than enough for a day out on the
local river systems which is how I use the boat. At the end of the day
it's hauled out back onto it's trailer, driven home and parked in my
driveway where it gets connected to mains power to recharge. I've never
come near exhausting the batteries yet.
The 2 stroke engine was noisy and smelly. It also was a touchy beast
to get going. (But once warmed up never missed a beat). And until
earlier this week my electric has been 100% for 3 seasons. Which is more
than I can say for the old 2 stroke stink-pot, which needed constant
coddling.
And even with my controller failed, I got back to shore under my own
power. (The value of a DC motor over a PMAC :-)
While many people admire my boats classic lines, I suspect most people
couldn't 'cope' with a boat that only runs at 9km/hr. While it's
perfectly suitable for day river cruising, most people can't get the
'need for speed' out of their systems.
I'd also never take the boat 'outside' as my father used to do going
fishing. To much risk with the E-drive. However my father had a classic
failure one one of his fishing trips on the 2 stroke - crashing through
a wave jogged the magneto out of place. In the early morning dark he
didn't see this - and he rowed the dammed thing all the way back in and
up river to our home. (About 10km all up!)
And yesterday while walking along a beach I saw a large boat with
'Rescue' along the side come up along side 6-7m 'speed boat' and throw
them a line and tow them off across the bay.
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